The UW College of Engineering announced it received a $25 million gift from Bjorn Borgen, an alumni of the College of Engineering who now owns a multi-billion dollar investment firm.
Borgen has a history in philanthropy, centering on education, environment, health and athletic donations in the U.S. and Norway. Borgen established the Bjorn Borgen Professorship in Mechanical Engineering, according to the announcement.
Grainger Dean of the College of Engineering, Devesh Ranjan sees Borgen and his gift as empowering for UW students, Ranjan said in the announcement.
“UW-Madison provides the opportunity and support to help you realize your dreams,” Ranjan said in an emailed statement.
The donation includes $20 million to the Engineering the Future Capital Campaign Fund.
The fund is designed to support important staples in college programs, like the forthcoming Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center, Ranjan said..
“This fund supports college priorities — importantly, our college’s new building, the Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center, which includes thousands of square feet dedicated to student instructional laboratories, study and collaboration space and interactive classrooms,” Ranjan said.
Borgen hopes the newly funded spaces will be not only for educational use, but also for social gathering and idea sharing, according to the announcement.
Additionally, the donation includes $5 million specifically toward the Department of Mechanical Engineering, where Borgen earned his Bachelor’s degree.
“Across the undergraduate experience in that department, the gift supports the many ways in which students apply their engineering education through hands-on learning and real-world applications,” Ranjan said.
Borgen wants to be involved in making the UW College of Engineering one of the top public engineering schools in the country, he said in the announcement.
The donation will be used to keep the College of Engineering up with modern industry technology, Ranjan said.
“It ensures we can continuously update our teaching, tools, technology and space so that our students’ education is relevant to industry needs and so that they have the creative freedom to think boldly, discover, innovate and to be entrepreneurial,” Ranjan said.
Borgen’s legacy is seen in his acquisition and subsequent selling of Founder’s Asset Management and his founding of the Borgen Investment Group and Borgen Family Foundation, according to the announcement.
Borgen’s name will decorate the active learning wing of the College of Engineering’s upcoming Philip A. Levy Engineering Center.
“We are grateful for the advocacy and support from our alumni and friends — people like Bjorn Borgen, Marvin and Jeff Levy, and many others — which enables our faculty, staff and students to engineer the future and to make a difference in our communities,” Ranjan said.
